Hello! I have a bit of an unusual blog post for you today - a recipe!
This was a recipe I saw on a cooking show about a decade ago. I made the dish at the time and loved it, and then when I tried to find the recipe again years later, it was gone. I discovered that dishes written by celebrity chefs for that show only had copyright for a number of years before being removed. So I thought my dream recipe was lost forever.
Then a few weeks ago, flicking through an old notebook of mine, I found a copy of the recipe that'd I'd written down years before and totally forgotten about! Hurrah! So here is my version of the recipe with a few little twists of my own. I hope you enjoy it, and please leave a comment if you make it!
Gnocchi Gratin with Butternut Squash and Goats Cheese
Serves: 4
Preparation and cooking time: about 1 hour
Ingredients
- one small butternut squash
- 500g gnocchi
- 2 pork chops, diced (omit for vegetarian version)
- mushrooms (about 8 chestnut mushrooms or small packet of button mushrooms)
- 200g creme fraiche
- 150g goats cheese
- 1 red onion
- garlic (two or three cloves)
- breadcrumbs / Japanese panko
- olive oil
- rosemary and thyme (a generous sprinkle, to taste)
- salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese
- Optional: sprig of fresh rosemary/thyme, amaretti biscuits, garlic bread
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees centigrade (180 fan oven)
2. Peel, scrap out the seeds and cube the butternut squash. Crush the garlic.
3. Fry the garlic in a generous glug of olive oil, on a medium/high heat, for about a minute, to infuse the oil with garlic flavour. Add the butternut squash and fry until getting soft and slightly browned (about 10-15 minutes, depending on heat)
4. Remove butternut squash from the pan. Chop the red onions and mushrooms, fry until the onions are softening and the mushrooms are browning slightly. Add the herbs. Remove from the pan. (5-7 minutes)
5. Take the pork (diced) and fry until browned. Add salt and pepper, to taste. (5-7 minutes)
6. Prepare the gnocchi as per the instructions on the packet (usually boil for a few minutes until softening)
7. Break up the goats cheese and mix together with the gnocchi, butternut squash, mushrooms, onions and pork, combining well. Add the creme fraiche and mix well. Transfer to a Pyrex dish (or similar) - deep ones work well. Press down slightly.
8. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs/panko and bake in the oven for about 20 - 30 minutes. To brown the breadcrumbs, move to the top of the oven. To stop breadcrumbs from burning, put on a lid/tinfoil.
Serve with a sprig of fresh rosemary/thyme.
Optional extras:
- To stretch the meal to six smaller serving, serve with a side of garlic bread.
- To add an extra flavour element, instead of Parmesan cheese as a sprinkling of crumbled amaretti biscuits for a sweet, crunchy edge.
Enjoy! And don't forget to add a comment (with a photo!) if you make it :D